Toy pistol



(No Model.)

B. BOGHTON.

TOYY PISTOL.

N0. 359,200. Patented Maly 8, l887.

Inv/enjoy# ilNrTaD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OE PULLMAN, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY R. VANDER- COOK, OF CHICAGO, AND H. I-I. SEYMOUR, OE FULLMAN, ILLINOIS.

TOY PISTOL,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent B10359200, dated March 8, 1887.

Application filed November 2, 1886. Serial No. 217.346. (No model.)

To all whom 'L'b may concern,.-

Beit known that I, BARTON A. BoUGHToN, of Pullman, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Pistols, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to toy pistols designed to propel marbles or other small balls by means l of a spring; and the object of my invention is to provide a new form of such a pistol, which shall combine to the greatest advantage the qualities of simplicity, cheapness, and durability.

To this end it consists in the construction and combination 4of parts herein described, and pointed out definitely in the claims.

Figure l is a side view, and Fig. 2 is a top view, of my improved device.

In the drawings, A represents the barrel, and G the stoel; or handle, of the pistol. These two parts are preferably, though not necessarily, made of metalsuch as malleable ironn cast in a single piece and they together form what I herein term the pistol-frame. The barrel A is provided with a suitable bore, and also with the longitudinal slots a a through the upper and lower walls thereof.

Rising from the barrel at the back edge of the slot a is the arm B, preferably curved backward, as shown, and integral with the pistolframe. O represents a fiat steel spring, which is fastened at one end to the upper end of the arm B, while the free end extends through the slot a and stands normally in about the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1g. This spring may be a single flat strip, or it may be re-enforced by one or more shorter springs, c, attached to the arm B at the point of attachment of thespring C, or at any other suitable point.

D represents the trigger, which is pivoted to the pistol-frame just back of the rear end of the slot a. Two arms, d di, form parts of said trigger, and lie substantially at right angles to the finger-piece d. The forward arm, d', is provided with a shoulder, cl3, which is adapted to engage with the free end of the spring C, as shown. To the rear arm, d'2, a spring, d4, is applied, so as to constantly force said arm down, and consequently force the arm d up. The front end of the arm d is beveled backward from its forward end to the `top of the shoulder d3. Then the lower end of the spring C is pressed backward by means of a suitable ramrod, or otherwise, the lower end of the spring strikes the beveled end of the arm d and forces it down until the spring has passed the shoulder d, which springs u p behind and holds the end of the spring. A pull on the finger-piece d releases the spring C and discharges the pistol.

The advantages of the construction above described are numerous. The fiat steel spring is much better adapted to a device of this kind than any form of coiled spring. It is much simpler, as nothing but the spring itself is needed to engage with the trigger and propel the ball. It can be made stronger than a coiled spring of a size adapted to the use to which it is put. It is cheaper and also more durable, as it does not lose its tension or life by use. The mode of attachment to the pistol frame by means of the rigid arm B also permits the use of the shortest spring for the desired strength, and also the use of a spring wide enough to certainly strike the ball or marble in the center, and thereby propel it cleanly out of the barrel without unnecessary friction.

The barrel of the pistol is also provided with two longitudinal slots, ai ai, one on each side thereof. At the forward ends of these slots the springs F F are secured to the barrel, and lie in the direction of the slots, and have their free ends-sprung inward to the center of the bore. These springs are of such length and are so arranged that the spring C passes between them in being bent backward, and stands between their free ends when the spring is held by the trigger. W'hen a ball or marble is introduced into the bore, the springs F F press on the sides thereof and hold it against the spring O until said spring is released and the ball is expelled. It is therefore possible to shoot in the above-described pistol any ball or marble which will enter the bore freely, and which has a diameter as great as the width of the spring C.

As a further improvement I provide on the top of the barrel at the forward end of the IOO slot a the lugs E E, preferably about the width of a parlor-match apart, which lugs serve to hold with suflicient firmness anything placed between them. If a stick bearing a detonating material-asf@ example,aparlormatch-' be placed between them, with the end bearing l the explosive extended over the slot a, the

spring C, when released, will, besides expelling the ball, strike against and explode the detonating material, thereby producing the effect of expelling the ball by means of the explosive.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y 1. The combination of a pistol-frame having a barrel which is provided with a suitable bore and longitudinal slots through the upper and lower walls thereof, and an arm integral with said frame extending upward from a point at the rear ofthe upper slot, with a iiat spring secured at one end to the upper end of said arm and having its free end extended through said slot, and means for retaining and releasing the free end of said spring, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of a pistol-frame having a hollow barrel which is provided with longitudinal slots in the top, bottom, and side walls thereof, and having an arm integral therewith extending upward from the barrel at the rear end of the upper slot, with a flat spring secured at one end to said arm, and having its free end extended through the upper slot, wire springs secured to the barrel at the forward end of said side slots, with their free ends sprung into the bore, and means for retaining and releasing said ilat spring, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a pistol-frame having a hollow barrel which is provided with longitudinal slots in therupper and lower walls thereof, and an arm integral therewith extending upward from said frame at a point at the rear of the upper slot, and the lugs E E on said barrel at the forward end of said upper slot, with a flat spring secured at one end to said arm and having its free end extended through said upper slot, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

BARTON A. BOUGHTON.

W'itnesses:

E. L. THURsToN, H. H. SEYMOUR. 

